Jeanne Guerin
English 20-41
Essay One Final Draft
2 October 2003
Individualism Over Communality Or Communality Over Individualism
I walked on to the campus of Saratoga High School not knowing what to expect. The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. The normal chatter of the hallways was not there as people were quietly walking together, many huddled in groups, comforting one another. The school had come together to mourn the loss of a student who had committed suicide. The student was a good friend, Lancy Chiu. I looked around and could not find any of my friends. I went in to the school office and inside of the counselor’s office there were five of my closer friends all crying. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t feel sad. I went inside and we all talked a little bit and the school bell rang. “You can stay here, if you want,” the counselor told us, but I was all right. I went to class and had a rather normal yet awkward day. All of my friends “got by” the experience. They came together, shared their feelings and pain and together they moved on. I, however, turned to myself to find why I was feeling this lack of sadness, the feeling of the loss of a good friend. None of my other friends understood how I was feeling, and none of them could help me when I figured it out. My individualism overpowered the sense of communality of that day, and through my individualism I matured; I found my thoughts, my comforts, and most importantly I found a little more of myself. Although everyone else found their way through the experience together, I am glad that I looked in to myself and dived down deep to find those thoughts. Although communality is a positive concept, in the broad view individualism should be prized over any sense of communality since it is what guides a person through hard times and teaches a person to grow and find their true self.
The impact of the suicide affected the school’s community in a positive way. On the contrary, in a small tight knit community called Buffalo Creek a disaster occurred which not only destroyed the physical aspects, but the mental heart of the community as well. A devastating flood killed 125 people and left nearly 5,000 people homeless. Buffalo Creek was not just any community, the people were so tightly connected together that communality was formed amongst them. As captured by Kai Erikson, a reporter of the incident, the people were not just neighbors, they “‘was like one big family… It’s more than friends… If someone was hurt, everybody was concerned, everybody… It’s a deeper feeling’” (Erikson, 188). Whenever there was a concern or a problem in the community, there was always someone else there to provide comfort and help. There was a communal comfort and trust, “we had a sort of understanding” (Erikson, 189). Nobody was left out, nobody was outcast, and everyone was included and welcomed. This type of communality is so difficult to find nowadays because our society is based on selfishness, wealth, and power. Buffalo Creek was a sort of ideal community, one in which there were no major differences, no stronger people, no one who stood out up and above or down below the crowd. Everybody was equal and everybody got along.
The disaster brought out the downside of such complete communality. After the damage was done and the water had cleared the remaining people came out. Reality struck and taking in all of the damage and loss, everything had changed and the communality which was once so strong was gone. So many homes were destroyed and so many people had died that everyone was left with a sense of emptiness and loss. It wasn’t just a loss of possessions and lives; it was the loss of self. The individuals in Buffalo Creek had “put their own individual resources at the disposal of the group-placing them in the communal store” (Erikson, 191) and so when this event happened, a great deal of their “store” was destroyed and along with the store was their resources. From birth the residents of Buffalo Creek were joined together and they never needed a sense of individuality. With the loss of their resources, everyone was left alone and helpless. Help was not available to anybody because each person felt the same pain and had no room for anyone else’s. Everyone felt alienated from their surrounding world and without their own sense of individualism they were not able to get out of it. “‘I would just forget about everybody. I couldn’t remember nobody. I didn’t want nobody around me. I didn’t want nobody to speak to me or even to look at me’” (Erikson, 193).
Buffalo Creek was an extreme case of a lack of individualism and it showed the true importance of it. Communality was important, and still is important as the bond of a community, but once that was gone, the people were in a way gone as well. It is important to always have a sense of self. Whether it takes a person who learns this from having individuality and learning communality, or from communality and looking in to individuality, it is important to know how to handle one’s self.
As told in a personal account from World War II titled “Manzanar, U.S.A.,” written Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Japanese-Americans were forced in to an internment camp. These individuals went from having freedom in everyday American life to being confined in small living quarters, forced inside of a gated area, losing jobs and friends and essentially leaving their lives behind. Although these people felt alienated from the country that they loved so immensely, the Japanese-American community came together and made the best use out of their situation. Houston speaks of how her father passed time in the camp.Papa pruned and cared for the nearest trees… He continued to brew his own sake and brandy. He wasn’t drinking as much now, though. He spent a lot of time outdoors. Like many of the older Issei men, he didn’t take a regular job in camp. He puttered. He had been working hard for thirty years and, bad as it was for him in some ways, camp did allow him time to dabble with hobbies he would never have found time for otherwise.Through this period of isolation from the “real” world, Houston’s father was able to look in to himself and find individualism. He found activities that he could enjoy and he let himself. Rather than drinking himself to oblivion from depression and anger, he hiked along creeks and built a small rock garden. Rather than coming home and going straight to the television or to his room, he spent time building wooden furniture out of driftwood and explored his artistic side. Houston learned for the first time that her father could paint and sketch. Her father had grown a sense of individualism in this camp and he found a place where although the circumstances were unfavorable, he was able to be content with what he had.
Michael Nava, the author of “Gardenland, Sacramento, California,” reflected on his past and how the communality in his family life was what drove him to his own individualism. A good deal of Nava’s neighbors were relatives and cousins. Nava went to a school with people who had a similar ethnic background. He shared the same meals, skin color, language, even the same name, and, most importantly, the same world. “Although not literally cut off from the outside world, Gardenland was little touched by it” (Nava, 149). The outside world seemed to not even exist because all they knew of from experience was Gardenland. At a young age, Nava discovered his homosexuality and realized he was different than everybody else in his community. He felt alienated as if he had “felt the wonder and loneliness of the first being” (Nava, 149), and he would try and find outlets to which he could find happiness. More and more he looked in to himself and more and more he became a newer, stronger, more mature person. Nava discovered books and found an outlet. “I loved the books as much as I loved reading… Early on, I acquired a taste for reading history, particularly ancient history… I was so fascinated by pictures of the nude male statues… By the time I was twelve I understood that my fascination was rooted in my sexual nature” (Nava, 151). Through books, Nava came to terms with his sexuality. “One day, walking to school, clutching my books to my chest, girl-style, I heard myself say, ‘I’m a queer’” (Nava, 151). Books helped Nava find his individualism and through this he got the courage to leave Gardenland and explore the world with no fear.
After adapting to American culture, Bharati Mukherjee explained in “Two Ways to Belong in America” how she left her home, India, for education, and in the process found herself. While her sister was submerged in the thought of staying an Indian citizen, Mukherjee adapted to America and alienated herself from the Indian customs. “I was prepared for (and even welcomed) the emotional strain that came with marrying outside my ethnic community” (Mukherjee, 117). Mukherjee obtained a respectable job and a place in her new home. She went outside of the “normal” communal pattern of life in which the women do not get the chance to be well educated, and opened up her individual self. Through the pain and bliss of transforming from Indian culture to an individual American, Mukherjee found a better way to live her life.
All of these examples show how individualism as a good thing, but do not necessarily show how communality can be a bad thing, this being mostly because communality is not all bad. There are many benefits of communality, some of which were listed earlier: comfort, trust, and a common closeness to other members. The ability to live a life in which when a problem occurs one does not need to vocalize and help will come, the ability to ask someone a few blocks down to get you some milk from the store, the ability to live a nearly carefree life knowing that someone else is there to protect and comfort if anything goes wrong, these are all extremely wonderful things to have. The complete dependence on communality, however, has a definite negative result. Complete communality means little or no individuality. Little or no individuality means there is no individual thinking or problem solving skills. If somehow left alone, a person who has been completely communalized would not be able to live a normal life. A difficulty making decisions and doing things that take common sense would be unachievable. Personal growth would be nearly impossible. Happiness would no longer be possible, once communality has been broken.
When I found out Lancy had passed away I didn’t feel sad. I felt distanced from everyone and unable to connect. As others turned to friends and family for help, I turned to myself. I realized that this event was just so close that it took a while to really sink in. I let every aspect of the suicide delve in to my mind, taking in emotions, comments, advice, and just the general atmosphere. Rather than merely moving on, I grew from the experience. I didn’t just let the feelings take their course and then let them fade, I analyzed the feelings bit by bit and discovered new meanings to morality and friendship.
As human beings, we all need to have human contact-complete isolation would lead to insanity in one way or another. Communities and moderate communality are two favorable things. It is alright to have a slight dependence on another person or other people, as people tend to need another for comfort, but if that dependence hinders ones ability to do things on his/her own, there is a problem. In order to be truly happy, a person must be able to be happy with only himself/herself. Additional connections and relationships are great for boosting the happiness, but the important thing is to have a sense of individuality. In the broad view, individualism should be prized over communality.
Word Count: 2034
Works Cited Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki. “Manzanar, U.S.A.” 98-103.
Kai, Erikson. “Collective Trauma: Loss of Communality.” Bass 186-196.
Nava, Michael. “Gardenland, Sacramento, California.” 144-151.
Mukherjee, Bharati. “Two Ways to Belong in America.” Bass 115-119.
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